The Fox network is developing an American version of hit British comedy Absolutely Fabulous more than a decade after comedian Roseanne Barr's attempt failed to get off the ground.

Fox's version of the Jennifer Saunders comedy would see its hard-drinking characters Patsy and Edina transplanted from London to the more alcohol-unfriendly Los Angeles.

The teams behind US comedy hits Arrested Development and Two and a Half Men are working on the show in conjunction with Saunders and BBC Worldwide.

The original BBC version of Ab Fab, as it was widely known, became a cult hit in the US after it was shown by cable channel Comedy Central.

Patsy and Edina, played by Joanna Lumley and Saunders, were seen as a stark contrast to the more wholesome characters normally seen on US television.

The Fox version will be overseen by Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz and the husband and wife team behind Two and a Half Men, Eric and Kim Tannenbaum, for Sony Pictures TV, Tantamount and BBC Worldwide America.

Hurwitz was also behind a recent US adaptation of The Thick of It, although it was not picked up for a series.

Saturday Night Live writer Christine Zander is working on the script and will also executive produce along with BBC Worldwide Productions USA's vice-president of programming and content strategy Ian Moffet and Saunders, according to American trade magazine Variety.

Despite the action being transferred to LA, the show will retain the basic template of the original, revolving around the friendship of two boozy, over-40 best friends who are desperate to stay hip and youthful under the disapproving eye of Edina's teenage daughter, Saffy, played by Julia Sawalha in the UK version.

Fox is taking a gamble on the show after the first attempt to make a US version, which Barr developed for ABC with Carrie Fisher, failed after never making it past the pilot stage.

In the UK, Ab Fab ran as a regular series between 1992 and 1995, with a two-part finale airing in 1996. Saunders and Lumley reunited for further series in 2001 and 2003.

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